


The artisan's apprentice

by Fiannalover



Category: Dragalia Lost (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, Master and Apprentices, Pyroblossom Making, Su Fang/Ku Hai in the background, Yaten wants to learn how to make Pyroblossoms so, sake
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-07
Updated: 2020-01-07
Packaged: 2021-02-27 16:00:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,820
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22159756
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fiannalover/pseuds/Fiannalover
Summary: Yaten seeks many skills to improve his festivals. Regarding one he has been searching for a while, the Halidom has just the right person to help him.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 10





	The artisan's apprentice

Su Fang was, all considered, a fan of routine. That is not to say he disliked to see it breaking or anything, but, with how dedicated and, some would say, obsessed, with his job as he was, most days went by more or less the same, either making or showing off his pyroblossoms.

Again, the occasional break from routine, most of the time, wasn’t bad though.

Being stalked by someone, however, most certainly was a bad and nerve-inducing break from routine.

One of the new arrivals at the Halidom just kept eyeing him since he returned from his latest pyroblossom display. Just who was that man? Clearly hinomotan, judging from the clothes, but why was he following him? Why why why?

At long last, the moment where he catched up to the man from Peng Lai happened.

“Hello there.” The shady stalker said, with a tired voice. “You’re Su Fang, right? I need something from you.”

“D-DON’T HURT ME! I swear I don’t have anything valuable! Not even money! I already spent most of it on new materials! B-but even then, you’ll never get any of the products I’ll make with them an-”

“Huh? I’m not here to mug you or anything.” The man answered, clearly confused beyond belief, with the tired voice now clearly being from sleepiness, rather than an attempt to look threathning. “I was just following you because Euden just told me you knew how to make pyroblossoms, and I want to learn.”

“… What?”

Before they could properly finish untangling the situation, another man of Peng Lai, who heard the screams, put himself in-between the two, delivering the single greatest glare he could pull off to the hinomotan. “Su Fang. Has this man threathned you? If so...”

“WAIT! Ku Hai, no, wait!”

* * *

After finding Euden, the situation finally was properly explained.

“Yaten is a festival planner from Hinomoto, Su Fang. He wanted to learn how to make pyroblossoms, so I told him about you.” The Prince explained. “I know that taking in students isn’t something you quite get comfortable with easily, but I can say with certainty that he is a good and trustworthy person… Even if he… Might not seem so. No offense.”

“None taken.” Yaten replied. “But, yup. That’s the story. If you could teach me how to make and manipulate them, I’d be thankful.”

Ku Hai’s glare already softened into his usual, normal scowl, as he looked to Su Fang in order to see his opinion. After thinking for a bit longer, the artisan took a deep breath and said. “Very well! If Euden vouched for you, I am more than willing to teach you! However, I already have another student. So, you’ll have to be comfortable with catching up with quite a bit of stuff! Is that alright with you?”

“Yep! Yes, it is!”

And so, Su Fang got through the day with a second apprentice on his belt.

* * *

“Alright then! Kelvin, can you tell your new classmate how pyroblossoms work?”

“Yes, Master!” The young boy replied, full of enthusiasm. “You craft them with the right materials for it, and activate them by filling them up with Mana! And you use the right cannon to make them fly all the way to the sky!”

“That’s correct!” Su Fang replied, with a proud smile on his face. “But what is the most important thing when activating pyroblossoms?”

“A clear and concentrated mind! I must be focused at all times, or I can make a huge mess!”

“Correct again! You have been doing great, Kelvin.” He said, crouching to mess with the beaming student’s hair. Properly getting up, he turned to Yaten and stated. “So, that’s the first, and most important part! Control! Pyroblossoms are explosives, so, before you can afford to learn how to launch them, you must know how to craft them, and before that, you must learn how to control mana the right way, and, before even that, you must practice having a controlled mind. Is that alright?”

“Yes. I’m ready to learn.” Yaten replied.

“Good! In that case, I want you to start with meditation. I’m already giving Kelvin some pointers on how to control the flow of Mana inside him, so I’ll check up on him and then come back for some instructions.”

With a nod, Yaten sat down in one of the mats that Su Fang put on their little classroom, crossing his legs, closing his mind, and taking deep breaths, in and out. Content with that starting point, the teacher went on to his other student, having already prepared some of the instruments that were to be used for exercises.

After some practice with those, Kelvin took a small break, and looked at the hinomotan man that was learning alongside him, before bluntly saying. “Master, I think he fell asleep.”

Looking at Yaten, and the way he was sitting completely upright, but with a hunch, and some faint snoring coming from him, Su Fang could only take a deep breath, and let out an equally deep sigh, before exasperatedly answering, “Of course he did.”

* * *

Between the fact Yaten was older than him, the man’s narcoleptic tendencies, the fact he was his second student, and their shared home in the Halidom, Su Fang’s relationship with Yaten was different from that which he had with Kelvin. With the extra confirmation, from Euden, Cleo, and other’s in the Castle, that the man was trustworthy and hardworking, even if that most certainly was not the image he gave of, the artisan decided to go a bit deeper on pyroblossom construction, during lessons in which there were just the two of them.

“… so, as you can see, the materials with which you make the pyroblossom greatly influence it’s shape, color, and all that stuff. However, the most important thing still is the amount of Mana you put in it.” He explained. “Put too much, and it’ll blow up in your hand. Too little, and it may not set off at all, or do so too late and close to the ground. And that is why it’s extremely important to have a clear, focused mind when managing these.”

Listening with the attention he usually reserved for festival planning, Yaten asked. “Have any big accidents already happened, with you?”

“Yes. My parents died on one, during the period I first tried to leave Peng Lai.” He bluntly answered, with an answer that Yaten was completely unprepared for. “So that’s why it’s important to have control. These are explosives. Even one going off can set off a lot of other stuff, and, if something makes it so you can’t focus, you shouldn’t even try.”

“… Your parents-”

“That happened a decent while ago. You shouldn’t worry about them, or me. Just have it as a reminder you can’t afford to mess something up, or let them fall into the wrong hands.”

Silently nodding, Yaten could feel this was a wound that went a decent bit deeper than Su Fang showed, but also one that, right now, at least, would only bring pain and frustration, if he poked on it. So, after a small bit of silence, he decided to shift the topic towards something hopefully lighter. “Euden mentioned to me you help with most of the things in Peng Lai’s Lunar New Year Festival. I guess that puts you in a position similar to mine?”

Letting out a small “huh” of surprise, Su Fang answered. “I guess it does. Peng Lai is my hometown. And I didn’t notice how important it was to me until I… Left and went back. So, I try to help as much as I can.”

“Xiao Lei and that big Ku Hai dude are from there too, right?”

“Yup! Xiao Lei is a huge help, and the only real friend I had for a long time. As for Ku Hai… He comes and goes I wish he stayed for longer, though.”

Hearing the raw amount of emotion that the last bit had, Yaten couldn’t help but let out. “You got it bad for him, huh?”

“Y-yes. I suppose I do. Please, don’t say so to anyone out of this room.” Su Fang requested. “But, my advances haven’t exactly worked, yet. So, he’s… Just my friend, for now. A dear friend, and he thinks of me as the same, but just a friend still.”

“… You know, maybe I could help you pick him up.”

“Uh? How so?”

“I learned a lot of dances over the years. Maybe, if your approaches aren’t cutting it, I could return the lessons you have been giving me by teaching...”

Whispering the rest of the offer into Su Fang’s ear, the artisan quickly went as red as a tomato, hurrying off to the opposite side of his room. “N-NO! I REFUSE! That is something for AFTER I’m already in a relationship, not when I’m still trying to win him over!”

“So… You’d like me to teach you anyway, for that moment?”

“Yaten!”

* * *

The day in which Su Fang would let either of his students set off pyroblossoms on their own was still in the far distance, but, for now, Yaten was beyond happy with ‘just’ a collaboration.

He had organized many, many festivals. But now, as he had one in which Su Fang was operating his pyroblossoms alongside it, it was safe to say Yaten couldn’t be more impressed with the results.

“So? Was the show to your liking?” The artisan asked.

“Yep! I couldn’t possibly ask for more! I’ll keep studying until I reach the day I can do those by myself.”

“It’ll come soon enough. You and Kelvin alike are both very dedicated students.” Su Fang stated, full of honesty. “In the meantime, just invite me, and I’ll be more than happy to go to whichever town wants my craft.”

Nodding, Yaten sat next to the machine and his Master, and took out a bottle from a bag he was carrying. “Still, this is the first time we are working together, so I think we should celebrate! You’re of drinking age, and already set off all the pyroblossoms we had for today, right? Fancy a cup or two of sake?”

Thinking over it a bit, Su Fang agreed. “Alright! It’ll be the first time I’ll have this hinomotan drink. Don’t pour much for me, at first.”

Nodding, the festival planner put some in the cups he brought for them both, and gave Su Fang his shot, before raising his own cup. “I think I prefer the way lanterns remain lit for a while, instead of the burst that pyroblossoms bring. But I'm very thankful you're taking me under your wing, Su Fang. To our collaboration and apprenticeship.”

Raising the drink he was given in answer, Su Fang added. “And to our friendship.”

Downing the sake under the starry sky and the moonlight, pyroblossom master and student alike refreshed and readied themselves for the days to come.


End file.
